1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally pertains to service vehicles used in performing work at a well site, and more specifically to a method of monitoring the operations of multiple service vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
After a well is set up and operating to draw petroleum, water or other fluid up from within the ground, various replacement parts and services are periodically provided to maintain the well. Such parts and services may include replacing worn parts such as a pump, sucker rods, inner tubing, and packer glands; pumping chemical treatments or hot oil down into the well bore; and pumping cement into the well bore to partially close off a portion of the well (or to shut it down entirely). Since wells are often miles apart from each other, the maintenance or service operations are usually performed by a mobile unit or service vehicle having special onboard servicing equipment suited to perform the work. Some examples of service vehicles include a chemical tank truck or trailer, a cement truck or trailer, a hot-oiler tank truck or trailer, and a portable work-over service rig having a hoist to remove and install well components (e.g., sucker rods, tubing, etc.).
Service vehicles are often owned by independent contractors that well companies (e.g., well owner or operator) hire to service the wells. For a single well servicing project, a well company may hire several different contractors, each having their own special equipment and areas of expertise. Each contractor may perform several different service operations. For example, one contractor with a work-over rig may replace tubing, sucker rods, and perforate casing. Another contractor, with a tank truck, may stimulate the well and provide a hot oil treatment Yet, another contractor may deliver parts or provide rental equipment. With several independent contractors each doing several different jobs, the oil company may find it difficult to keep track of everything that is going on at the well site.
Consequently, some service operations may be done improperly or may be overlooked entirely. The oil company may receive invoices for work that was never performed. If an accident or some other notable incident occurs at the well site, it may be difficult to determine the cause or who was involved. If the various contractors each prepare their own service report, the well company may still need to sort through all the reports to determine what was done, who did it, and when it was done. Sorting through the various reports can be especially difficult and time consuming if each report follows a different format, which may be unique to each individual contractor.
To avoid the problems and limitations of current methods of monitoring operations at a well site, it is an object of the invention is to collect data directly at the well site, wherein the data identifies what was done and who did it.
A second object is to allow a contractor to specify what service operation is about to be performed by providing the contractor with a menu of service operations from which to choose.
A third object is to generate directly at the well site a cohesive report that identifies which service operation is supposedly being performed, a transducer reading that substantiates the service operation was actually being carried out, and which contractor was involved in doing the work.
A fourth object is to generate directly at the well site a cohesive report that identifies several service operations supposedly being performed, several transducer readings that substantiate that the service operations were actually being carried out, and which contractor was involved in doing the work.
A fifth object is to generate directly at the well site a cohesive report that identifies several service operations supposedly being performed, several transducer readings that substantiate that the service operations were actually being carried out, and a list of several independent contractors that were involved in doing the work.
A sixth object is to generate directly at the well site a cohesive report that identifies facts about an accident or an environmental incident that occurred at the well site.
A sixth object is to generate directly at the well site a cohesive report that identifies which service operation is supposedly being performed, a transducer reading that substantiates the service operation was actually being carried out, which contractor was involved in doing the work, and a time stamp that identifies when the service operation was being performed.
A seventh object is to generate directly at the well site a cohesive report that identifies which service operation is supposedly being performed, a transducer reading that substantiates the service operation was actually being carried out, and which employee was involved in doing the work.
An eighth object is to generate directly at the well site a cohesive report that identifies which service operation is supposedly being performed, a transducer reading that substantiates the service operation was actually being carried out, which contractor was involved in doing the work, and at which well site the work occurred.
A ninth object is to generates a report that summarizes the work performed by one or more contractors using one or more special service vehicles designed specifically to assist in performing certain service operations at a well site.
A tenth object is to further use such a service vehicle to transport a computer to the well site, wherein the computer is used to create a report that identifies the activities at the well site.
An eleventh object is to provide a wireless communication link between a first computer at a home base location and a second computer at a remote well site, so that report information collected on the second computer can be almost immediately communicated to the first computer, thereby providing a well company with timely access to the report.
A twelfth object is to validate that a service operation is actually being performed by sensing pressure or rotational speed of a motor associated with the service operation.
These and other objects of the invention are provided by a method of monitoring operations at a well site that involves collecting data directly at the well site, wherein the data identifies which service operation is supposedly being performed, a transducer reading that substantiates that the service operation was actually being carried out with the assistance of a service vehicle, and which contractor was involved in doing the work.